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Anyone who has travelled has probably noticed familiar foods can taste different abroad. No matter how juicy and tasty is a mango bought at your nearest grocer, for example, it is no match for a mango plucked off a tree in, say, India.

Forget the long, sharp needles and vials of blood taken to check for cancers, diabetes and heart problems — researchers at the University of Victoria have developed a new test requiring only a single drop.

Liverpool hasn’t looked convincing this season, but Brendan Rodgers’ side has still managed to get results. But after their 1-0 wins over Stoke and Bournemouth, the Reds face a much harder test on Monday, when they visit Arsenal. Rodgers has made numerous additions over the summer, most notably acquiring prolific Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke. The powerful Belgium international is off to a good start, as he scored the winner in Liverpool’s home opener.

The FA Cup semifinals are this weekend at Wembley, as my old club Reading faces high-flying Arsenal on Saturday. Aston Villa plays Liverpool on Sunday. This will be Reading’s first trip to the semis in 88 years, but the circumstances could be better.

Not every marriage could cope with sharing jobs as well as family life. The hours in close contact are long, the work can follow them home and sleep can be in short supply. But for these three busy couples, working together has allowed their children and their relationships to thrive.

"What song you like?" the piano player wanted to know. He was probably in his 80s, this pianist in a Bronx city market, but his hands danced ever so gracefully over the yellowed keys of his beat-up piano.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup still more than seven months away, tickets for the final match — happening at home in Vancouver — are already more than 50 per cent sold. “(It’s been) really strong from the get-go,” said FIFA’s Rita Rogers about ticket sales, which officially kicked off Sept. 10.

Looking carefully so as not to step on anyone, I slowly back up to get in place for the money shot. In front of me, a staff member of Takaya Tours is taking a photo on his smartphone of a Brazilian cameraman, who is using a professional-grade TV camera to take video footage of Takaya tour leader Dennis Thomas, who is leading a group drum chant in Cates Park, North Vancouver.

This could be any Grade 9 class in B.C. But it’s not in the province at all. The class follows the B.C. curriculum to the letter, yet it’s located 8,000 kilometres away at the BIS Canada school in Seoul, South Korea — one of 42 offshore schools in six countries that teaches a B.C.-certified curriculum.

Although the 2014 FIFA World Cup came to a close on Sunday, the hype and patriotism are still running high in the B.C. soccer community with the 35th annual Nations Cup Soccer Tournament kicking off in Richmond on Friday evening. “This is really running from one weekend into the next, so it’s a good fit,” Nations Cup president Jeff Wilson said of the annual tournament’s seemingly perfect timing.

For all the doom and gloom about Canadian men’s soccer that makes the rounds every four years, say this for the next generation: They have belief. “Nothing happens overnight,” said Marco Carducci, the 17-year-old Whitecaps goalkeeper from Calgary. “But I think with the amount of young players coming through, in the next couple of World Cup (cycles), if we keep progressing, I don’t see why we can’t be a serious contender in CONCACAF.

I’m always looking for ways to improve the skill and performance of young athletes, while also exposing them to positive role models and lifestyle habits. The current excitement around the World Cup is a great opportunity to do both. Recently my boys and I were invited to join a great friendly soccer match between the families and friends of my good clients Colin Bosa (Team Italy) and Talal Yassin (Team Brazil). The lead in this competitive match went back and forth, but the result was a 6-6 tie at the final whistle.

When I was younger, I took my first trip overseas as part of an organized tour in high school. Amazingly (and perhaps not surprisingly), 14 days in Greece and Italy did the trick: I was hopelessly hooked on travel. And as an adult, I'm passionate about encouraging student travel.

After a long, cold Canadian winter and 10 difficult days in Salvador, Brazil, I needed a place to recharge. I wound up in Brazil's third most populous city to visit my younger sister, who had stumbled across Bahia's state capital a year and a half before. She had left to backpack South America, found Salvador (and love) and never came home.

Markus Frind is far too lean and thoughtful to be mistaken for a mischievous cherub, but he knows more than Cupid ever will about love potions. In his vast love machine in downtown Vancouver, the man who brings romance to millions around the world is braced for the most passionate time of the year.

Vancouver’s wet and dreary weather can often wash out winter training sessions. And while the best tips to get through a soggy practice are to have the appropriate gear and to keep moving, there’s a much drier option: FIFA’s official indoor version of soccer, futsal.

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